Study says thousands put at risk from house fires due to low or non-existent EU furniture safety standards.
Will green technologies have a roll in this new finding?
Sofas bought in 25 member states reached life-threatening condition in less than seven minutes while “stringent” UK safety standards delayed fire growth for almost 25 minutes, it says.
The report says that 3,000 people are killed and 30,000 injured every year across Europe in house fires, half of which involve furniture.
The study has revealed “shocking” evidence that the lives of European citizens are being put at risk by very low – or non-existent – fire safety standards for upholstered furniture.
The research, carried out by a specialist testing centre in the Netherlands1, involved setting fire to sofas bought in each of the 27 EU member states.
It found that 25 out of the 27 sofas reached life-threatening heat and smoke density less than seven minutes after ignition – some in as little as two minutes.
By contrast, the sofa manufactured to the stringent UK (and Irish) fire safety standard slowed the development of the fire, which did not turn into a life-threatening blaze until more than 21 minutes had elapsed.
